RE-1 Valley School District tests reunification plan with mock drill

Staff, law enforcement, volunteers participate in exercise

As students wait to go inside the building, Sterling Correction Facility officers secure the perimeter during a mock drill to test RE-1 Valley School District's reunification plan. (Callie Jones/Journal-Advocate)

STERLING -- There is a gas leak at Sterling Middle School; staff and students have all been evacuated from the building and the principal has received a call alerting that it's not safe for students to return to school.

That was the scenario given at a mock drill on Wednesday to test the reunification portion of RE-1 Valley School District's Safety Response Plan.

"We never want to have to incorporate this activity, but we also want to work through it so we know how to take better care of staff and students," Superintendent Betty Summers told those participating in the drill.

This was the first test of a plan that the District Safety Committee completed this summer for reuniting students with parents in the event of an evacuation.

"We want to be sure that what we wrote down really will work," Carol Brom, Safety Design Team chair, told participants.

During the mock drill SMS staff and volunteers played the parts of parents and students. Also assisting with the mock drill was Sterling Fire Department/Ambulance, Northeastern Junior College Fire Academy, Emergency Management, Sterling Police Department, Logan County Sheriff's Office, Office of Emergency Management and Sterling Correctional Facility.

Other agencies participating on the planning committee or cooperating as resources for the event included the Northeast Colorado Health Department, Logan County Social Services and Sterling Regional Medical Center.

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The drill started with students and staff evacuating the building and walking or taking a bus to Sterling High School to reunite students and parents.

In a real life event, the district will issue notification for student release by using their voice messaging system with an automatic call, text, or email to the parent's or guardian's designated number.

During the mock drill, while walking over to the school, teachers worked to keep students from misbehaving as they walked over and waited outside to be let into one of the gyms, where they would remain until their parents arrived.

Sterling Correctional Facility officers work to calm frustrated parents, waiting to go get their children, during RE-1 Valley School District's mock drill on Wednesday to test their reunification plan. (Callie Jones/Journal-Advocate)

Meanwhile, SCF officers dealt with students trying to leave on their own and angry parents outside the front of the school, wanting to go find their child.

While students waited in one of the gyms, parents were led into another gym, where check in was taking place. In a real life situation, parents or guardians should be prepared to present a photo ID card upon request and sign an emergency information card and a student release log. Only those listed on the student's emergency contact form will be able to pick students up.

When those tasks are completed parents will be given a copy of the release form.

As parents were waiting to check-in, SCF officers dealt with frustrated parents anxious to get to a check-in table and staff had to deal with issues related to parents having a restraining order or not being the right parent to pick the child up.

Once the paperwork was complete parents proceeded to the student pick up area, where they waited for a runner to go get their child. Again, SCF officers were there to deal with any frustrated parents who were having trouble waiting.

After the student arrived, the parent and student left immediately. By the end there were four students remaining whose parents hadn't come to get them and staff had to figure out what to do with them.

Following the mock drill, participants sat down for a "hot wash," to debrief about what went well and what might need to be worked on.

One of the suggestions was to take into consideration what would be done if a student needs medication for some sort of health issue if they have to wait somewhere for a long period of time.

A parent and student are reunited in the pick up area, while a staff member works to calm down another parent waiting for their child to be brought in. (Callie Jones/Journal-Advocate)

Another issue that arose was making sure announcements made in the school pertain to the situation and not something else, because school was still in session at the reunification site.

Summers said one of the biggest things she took out of it was, "You think because you know all these things in your mind; everybody has that background knowledge," when in reality that might not be the case.

"Sometimes you need to go more in depth," she said.

Summers commented said the collaboration the district was able to have with other agencies for the mock drill was "phenomenal."

"It's very evident how the collaboration will pay off in the long run for students," she said.

Parents work with staff to provide the information needed to pick up their child during a mock drill to test RE-1 Valley School District's reunification plan. (Callie Jones/Journal-Advocate)

Participants were given an evaluator check list to state whether or not they felt the objectives of the exercise were met. The objectives included:

Contacting and coordinating with local responder incident command within five minutes;

Activating and setting up a reunification site according to district plans within 30 minutes;

Establishing necessary security measures by collaborating with law enforcement and Department of Corrections;

Gaining access to electronic student records;

Properly identifying and accounting for all students and staff;

Assuring proper identification of parents/guardians and verifying with emergency records;

Managing proper reunification of students with parents/guardians;

Coordinating with hospital staff to reunify parent/guardian with injured student;

Coordinating with appropriate agency for custody of students not reunited when reunification site closes.

The District Safety Committee will now debrief with the participant responses.

Information about what to expect in an actual situation if a school, or all the schools in the district, find it necessary to release students outside normal school hours, can be found on the district website, re1valleyschools.org.

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